For decorative and holiday purposes it is frequently desirable to display fresh cut trees, usually evergreens, in a natural upstanding manner. A portable tree stand is used to support the tree in a natural upstanding manner while holding a quantity of water in contact with the cut end to maintain freshness. Such tree stands are of two basic types: screw type stands which use screws to engage the trunk and support the tree, and cable type stands which use cables to accomplish this. Cable-type stands are generally preferred for applications where an installer is either unable or unwilling to expend the extensive time and effort required to erect and adjust a tree's position with screws.
It is advantageous to design both screw-type and cable-type tree stands to prevent foreign objects from entering their water reservoirs, to prevent pets from drinking the water. Without such protection, a Christmas tree skirt can easily fall or sag into contact with the reservoir water and wick a large quantity of the water out onto the floor. In addition, small objects such as toys, ornaments and children's hands and feet, can enter into an open reservoir, water-damaging the object, or splashing water onto the floor.
Existing tree stands are not designed to fence-off access to their water reservoirs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,405 to Layton, issued Jan. 4, 1966, discloses a conical flange surrounding its water reservoir. The conical flange extends downward and laterally outward from the stand's water reservoir and does not extend above the reservoir rim. The conical flange is capable of supporting a tree skirt, but provides no additional "fencing" protection against the tree skirt or other foreign objects entering the reservoir.